BJP Wins 4 of 7 Assembly By-Elections; Sunetra Pawar Triumphs in Baramati

Of the seven seats, the BJP-led NDA won Rahuri and Baramati in Maharashtra, Umreth in Gujarat, Koridang in Nagaland and Dharmanagar in Tripura while the Congress retain Bagalkot and Davanagere South in Karnataka.

In Maharashtra, the BJP ally Nationalist Congress Party's Sunetra Ajit Pawar recorded a landslide victory in Baramati, securing 2,18,969 votes and winning by a margin of 2,18,034 votes.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Pawar expressed gratitude towards the public for supporting the party.

Speaking with the media, she said that the party, through their votes, expressed faith in former Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who died in a tragic plane crash in Baramati in January this year."The public has shown their trust, love, and sympathy for Dada (Ajit Pawar) through this voting," she said.

She further hailed the victory of NDA in the assembly elections across West Bengal, Assam and Puducherry."NDA governments are coming to power in West Bengal, Assam, and Puducherry,' she said.

Earlier in the day, Maharashtra Deputy CM expressed that the faith shown by the people of Baramati through their votes is dedicated to the sacred memory of the late Ajit Pawar.

In a post on X, Pawar said that the announcement of the Baramati Assembly by-election results has brought back memories of Ajit Pawar, leaving everyone emotional. Appealing to party workers and supporters who deeply admired him, she urged that no victory rallies be taken out and no gulal be thrown in celebration. "Let us maintain restraint and conduct ourselves in a manner befitting his ideals," she said.

She also conveyed her assurance to the people that she remains committed to building the Baramati envisioned by Ajit Pawar.

The Baramati by-election was held on April 23, following the vacancy caused by the death of Ajit Pawar in a plane crash earlier this year.

Counting of votes was also held in Karnataka, Nagaland, Gujarat and Maharashtra on Monday, where by-elections were held last month following the death of sitting MLAs.

In Maharashtra, the by-elections follow the demise of MLA Shivaji Bhanudas Kardile from Rahuri and MLA Ajit Pawar from Baramati.

The BJP retained Rahuri, where Akshay Shivajirao Kardile polled 1,40,093 votes to defeat NCP-Sharadchandra Pawar's Mokate Govind Khandu by 1,12,587 votes.

On the other hand, the Congress retain both seats in Karnataka. In Bagalkot, Umesh Hullappa Meti won with 98,919 votes, defeating the BJP's Charantimath Veerabhadrayya by 22,332 votes. Meti's rival secured 76,587 votes.

In Davanagere South, Samarth Shamanur Mallikarjuna polled 69,578 votes, edging out BJP's Shrinivasa T Dasakariyappa by 5,708 votes. Dasakariyappa received 63,870 votes. Davanagere South seat fell vacant following the death of Shamanur Shivashankarappa.

Umesh Meti is the son of late Congress leader Meti Hullappa Yamanappa (HY Meti), who represented the Bagalkot seat, while Samarth Mallikarjun is the son of Karnataka Minister SS Mallikarjun.The Bagalkot seat fell vacant after the death of HY Meti.

The BJP also won Umreth in Gujarat, with Harshadbhai Govindbhai Parmar polling 85,500 votes and defeating Congress's Bhrugurajsinh Chauhan by 30,743 votes. Chauhan secured 54,757 votes. The by-election, conducted on April 23, was held due to the passing of then-sitting BJP MLA Govind Parmar.

In Nagaland's Koridang, BJP's Daochier I Imchen won with 7,317 votes, defeating Independent candidate Toshikaba by 3,123 votes. Toshikaba received 4,194 votes while Congress's T. Chalukumba Ao finished last with 144 votes. The seat fell vacant after the death of veteran BJP leader Imkong L Imchen.

The BJP retained Dharmanagar in Tripura, where Jahar Chakraborti polled 24,291 votes. He defeated CPI(M)'s Amitabha Datta by 18,290 votes, with Datta securing 6,001 votes. Congress' Chayan Bhattacharya finished with 5,936 votes.

The seat fell vacant after the demise of Tripura Speaker and four-time MLA Biswa Bandhu Sen.

- ANI